If there is a small piece of the jigsaw which may be nicely forming this transfer window, it is left midfield.
Long-held as a problem with the insufficient Josh Windass and Aaron Nemane as Rangers’ only two left wingers, Pedro Caixinha tried Niko Kranjcar too in desperation and the Croat, again, was left wanting.
Subsequently Rangers were beyond desperate to land Hearts’ Jamie Walker, and when that saga ultimately came to nothing, Rangers’ options there were disappointing at best.
And when Lee Wallace ended up injured, left midfield became an even bigger hazard with the loss of another possibility there.
Over time though, the jigsaw may just have solved itself thanks to the imminent return of Wallace plus an unexpected bonus in the form of Wales international Declan John.
Very quietly this unheralded Cardiff loanee has won everyone over, and some would make a strong case that the left back signed for squad depth only has ended up being one of Rangers’ best three players overall. It is no shock we have secured him permanently and are likely to get a decent fee if we should sell. Good business sense.
But there is little doubt his best work is done in the opposition half – frankly some of his individual play has been outstanding, and the kind of thing we thought his ‘rival’ Josh Windass would produce but has not.
John has been slightly wasted in the LB slot, covering for Wallace, with defending not his absolute best suit, but with Wallace’s return, John can finally shift up to the LW berth, make it his own, while Windass takes his rightful place on the bench or at another club.
Meanwhile Rangers are heavily linked still with Brighton’s out of favour Jamie Murphy so that is another option, but it is one which will cost.
If Rangers do not get Murphy, having, as things stand, Tavernier and Candeias on one side and Wallace and John on the other really is not a bad setup really.
And if we do stump up the cash for the ex-Motherwell attacker, it is even more squad depth of a higher level than we currently have – but the point is we do not need to splash out – the solutions may already be on our doorstep.
Of course it is ifs and buts. Graeme Murty may have Murphy in mind for the LW slot and John for LB – he might see Wallace now as a bench player. Who knows? We may also end up selling Tavernier and ripping that plan up too.
But as things stand, Rangers do actually have a bit of potential down each flank now, and that is a better situation than what we had before.
Biggest issue I see with this solution is Wallace has become injury prone. He has missed more games in the last 2 years through injury than he has played. He deserves a chance to come back but another injury and we may well need a new LB. I wonder if Beerman has any chance of playing back up since Murty is in charge now, though I think his contract is up at the end of the season.
Not to forget Atakayi, who has pace to burn and a decent goalscoring record even against decent teams. I would be happy with John 1st choice and Atakayi as backup. So would take Murphy, but not at a big cost in fee or wage. Those days must stop. Now.
Money should be spent on a goalscorer to help Morelos. Ditch Herrera and Pena, Alves and Kranjkar, but let them all know they won't be playing but we will release them or play nice if someone wants them. That is a lot of wages. Then? I don't claim to have the answers. I would like Hardie to get a run out to see if he can be the future, but if they don't want to do that, they need to find someone. An injury to Morelos, or another run of no goals, would cripple us just now. We need a Plan B
Wallace at LB
John at LM
Tav at RB
O'Halloran at RM
Interesting, could work. Worth a try anyway. We are now looking to build some depth. If we bring in Murphy, add Atakayi from youth then we have left wing cover. Would seem to reduce odds of Jamie Walker, although he also plays in the hole, like Windass. O'Halloran and Candeias can fight for RW slot. O'H will have to do well to win that battle.
We have enough for CM with Halliday returning, others on way back from injured and Barjonas and Burt from youth.
But we need cover up front. If they don't rate Hardie, we need someone else
Why oh why are we bringing Andy Halliday back. He was useless before and he will be useless again.
I think he might be worth a go Andy Halliday under Mr Murtys coaching team. Think also we need a proven striker, not a 31 year old ie Naismith, an aggressive tall striker who can help Morelos. Any young Mark Hatelys out there ?
Comments are closed.